Hello; I use a timer on my planted tanks. I vary the length of time the lights are on in response to the conditions of a tank. Some times I wind up with around 14 on/10 off. I have gone as much as 16 on/8 off. It seems to depend on the strength of the light, the type of plants, the amount of shading and such. My cover has a glass panel between the light and the water, it will become more opaque over time from evaporation deposits and even algae growth. I have to clean it from time to time. I rarely go less than 12 hours on.
I just don't know what I'm doing wrong!
- Thread starter KristaM92
- Start date
Hello; I have tried the layered substrate and it did not work out over time. The layers got all mixed up after a time. The best I was able to set up was to have some sort of pot to have a different material in with a layer of the display substrate on top. I tried different containers. Probably the small clay flower pots worked best. . The last few years I use only a uniform gravel layer.
I had huge algae issues at 12/12 light. I'm now at 9 hours on and my tank is much happier. I've done some research and many aquascapers run their tanks in the 6-8 hours range. It is hard to keep the nutrient level stable with such a long photoperiod.
Hello; I had to check the first post to see if you were the Op to be sure before replying to the above post. That a long light on/short off photoperiod does not work in all set-ups is not unexpected. It has worked for me for a long while. I am looking at a setup that has had a 14hr on period for over 18 months as I type. It may be the intensity of my lights or some other factor. The photo in my avatar was from a tank with such a photoperiod.
I suggest that the OP try a variety of things to improve plant growth. What has worked for me may not work for others. I put it out as a sample of my experience.
This is true. I have very high light intensity at 360 watts at full power. At lower light i'm sure 12-14 hours would work without issue.
i think kristam means to say her substrate is flourite, not flourish.
plants like fish take time to acclimate to tanks as well. i've had my 60 gal tank planted for a bit over 6 months now, it was a fresh setup, went through its algae fighting cycle for ages and has just come out of it for the most part. the plants were always struggling to hold on, leaves withering and browning.
i used root tabs in the substrate (i have just plain old play sand), and dose daily with the specified seachem flourish excel (co2 supplement). a few times a week approx, i dose with seachem flourish, flourish iron, flourish potassium and trace (for micro nutrients).
i didn't know how long my plants would last and kept it up. they started greening, the leaves thickened, stems are thick and rigid, and i'm even getting runners.
my amazon swords have grown runners on them, one is now almost halfway up the height of the plant at roughly 8 inches, and the other has grown all the way out of the top of my tank (24 inches tall) and is 3 inches out of said tank. all in the last week or two.
i'm using 2 48 inch double bulb shop lights from home depot, with philips plant and aquarium bulbs. cheap but seems to be doing the trick. they run from 6am to 6pm.
keep at it, and grab some of the plant nutrient products. i find that other than the co2, required are the trace, iron and potassium.
plants like fish take time to acclimate to tanks as well. i've had my 60 gal tank planted for a bit over 6 months now, it was a fresh setup, went through its algae fighting cycle for ages and has just come out of it for the most part. the plants were always struggling to hold on, leaves withering and browning.
i used root tabs in the substrate (i have just plain old play sand), and dose daily with the specified seachem flourish excel (co2 supplement). a few times a week approx, i dose with seachem flourish, flourish iron, flourish potassium and trace (for micro nutrients).
i didn't know how long my plants would last and kept it up. they started greening, the leaves thickened, stems are thick and rigid, and i'm even getting runners.
my amazon swords have grown runners on them, one is now almost halfway up the height of the plant at roughly 8 inches, and the other has grown all the way out of the top of my tank (24 inches tall) and is 3 inches out of said tank. all in the last week or two.
i'm using 2 48 inch double bulb shop lights from home depot, with philips plant and aquarium bulbs. cheap but seems to be doing the trick. they run from 6am to 6pm.
keep at it, and grab some of the plant nutrient products. i find that other than the co2, required are the trace, iron and potassium.
What's ur filtration ? R u using activated carbon?
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Its not really Co2 in liquid form, what it is, is a type of liquid that helps your plants absorb Co2 better...
But to answer your question, seachem's flourish excel is the product your looking for...
And yes extremely easy to use...
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
But to answer your question, seachem's flourish excel is the product your looking for...
And yes extremely easy to use...
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Thank you hereticlosmorte, that is what I meant. I have flourite substrate.
Also, to answer flip_mode's question, my filtration is a an emperor 400 with no activated carbon because I don't want to strip nutrients out of the water. I have sponge media in the inserts instead.
My tank has only been running for 6 months now so I think I'm just experiencing the algae fighting stage that hereticlosmorte mentioned. As for my plants, I'm going to get some excel and also some phosphorous nutrient and see if that helps. I've increased my light from 8 hours to 10 hours so far. If that doesn't cut it, Ill try 12 hours. I just hope the black beard algae doesn't take off with all that extra light.
I'll be upgrading my tank soon and I was curious if anyone had any suggestions as to what I could do better with the new tank to ensure some healthy plants? I plan on running the emperor 400 and a sump that my boyfriend is building right now. As for substrate, I was just going to mix the poolfilter sand with the flourite and move it over to the new tank (it's layered right now but it would be impossible to keep it that way). For lighting, I plan on hanging my T5HO fixture from the ceiling and adding a couple metal halide pendants. Any suggestions?
Also, to answer flip_mode's question, my filtration is a an emperor 400 with no activated carbon because I don't want to strip nutrients out of the water. I have sponge media in the inserts instead.
My tank has only been running for 6 months now so I think I'm just experiencing the algae fighting stage that hereticlosmorte mentioned. As for my plants, I'm going to get some excel and also some phosphorous nutrient and see if that helps. I've increased my light from 8 hours to 10 hours so far. If that doesn't cut it, Ill try 12 hours. I just hope the black beard algae doesn't take off with all that extra light.
I'll be upgrading my tank soon and I was curious if anyone had any suggestions as to what I could do better with the new tank to ensure some healthy plants? I plan on running the emperor 400 and a sump that my boyfriend is building right now. As for substrate, I was just going to mix the poolfilter sand with the flourite and move it over to the new tank (it's layered right now but it would be impossible to keep it that way). For lighting, I plan on hanging my T5HO fixture from the ceiling and adding a couple metal halide pendants. Any suggestions?
